Coop.



J. C. PEIFER.

COOP.

APPLICATION FILED E58. 1. 1916.

Patented Mar. 5,1918.

Gamma,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN G. PEIFER, 0F BENSON, MINNESOTA.

COOP.

Application filed February 7, 1916.

To all whom, "it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN C. Pnrrnn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Benson, in the county of Swift and State of itlinnesota, have invented new and useful. Improvements in Coops, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to improvements in poultry coops, and is especially directed to means for sustaining and locking the movable slat or door to the top of the coop.

In carrying out my invention it is my purpose to notch the end boards at the top of a coop, and if necessary, to notch the center board or partition thereof, to cover the notches with spring plates and to provide the door or slat which is adapted to he slid through the notches with a catch member which will co-act with one of the spring plates in such a manner as to effectively retain the door in closed position upon the coop, and whereby the employment of hinges or similar or permanent securing means, such as nails, screws or the like, for fastening the slat or door will be entirely dispensed with.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide the top of a coop with notches and to cover the same with spring plates which are permanently connected with the coop, the notches being in alinement and forming ways for the sliding slat or door, the said slat having arranged upon its outer face a catch plate which includes spaced shoulders that are adapted to contact with the opposite edges of one of the spring plates, the shoulders being so arranged as to spring the plate outward when slid therebeneath, and the said shoulders being fur ther provided with openings for the reception of a wire or the like which has its ends twisted and connected by a suitable seal so that access to the coop cannot be obtained except by the breaking of the said seal, and

thus the contents of the coop will be protected against unauthorized persons.

With the above and other objects in view, the improvement resides in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts set forth in the following specification and falling within the scope of the appended claim.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a coop constructed in accordance with the present invention,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 5, 1918.

Serial No. 76,726.

Fig. 2 is a central vertical longitudinal sectional view through the same,

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view approximately on the line 33 of Fig. 2, and

Fi g. l is a perspective view of the removable slat or door.

In the drawing, the numeral 1 designates any ordinary coop, the same in the present instance having its sides and top connected with its ends by spaced slats.

The center slat at the top is, however, not rigidly connected with the coop and this slat, indicated for distinction by the numeral 2 is adapted to serve as the door for the coop.

The ends as well as the center partition 4 at the top of the coop are provided with alining notches 5, the said notches being closed by spring plates 6 which are arranged upon the upper edges of the ends 3 and partition i and are secured to these members.

The sliding slat or door 2 in the present instance is centrally provided upon its outer face with a clip 7. In this connection it is to be stated that the clip 7 may be arranged at any desired point upon the slide so that the same will engage with one of the spring straps (3 in a manner which will presently be described. The clip 7 preferably comprises a flat plate or body 8 which is connected with the door 2 in any desired or preferred manner and which is provided with spaced lugs 99, the said lugs being arranged a distance apart slightly greater than the width of the spring strips 6, and the outer faces of the lugs are preferably beveled or inclined. to the ends of the body of the clip so that when the door is slid through the notches one of the beveled sur faces will contact with one of the strips 6 to cause the same to spring outwardly at the same time causing the door or sliding memher 2 to spring inwardly in the notch 5 permitting the lug to pass below the strip, when the said strip will be received between the respective lugs. By reference to the drawings it will be noted that the notch 5 in the partition 4 is deeper than the notches in the ends 3 of the crate. By this arrangement the slot 2 may be centrally depressed, or sprung to bring the lugs 9 below the plate 6 in the partition l and permit of the sliding of the slat to its open position. The lugs 9 project a slight but suitable distance above the spring strip 7 which engages between the same, and these projecting portions are provided With alining openings or the reception of a locking element. The locking element in the showing of the drawing is in the nature of a Wire member 10 Which is twisted upon itself: and the said twists are connected by a suitable seal 11. By this means it Will be noted that access to the coop cannot be obtained through the doorway until after the Wire 10 is cut or the seal removed and so any attempt to obtain entrance to the coop through the said doorway by unauthorized persons Will be perili'ectly apparent.

Having thus described the invention, What I claim is:

A poultry coop having a central partition, the ends of the coop and the said partition having alining notches and the notch in the partition being deeper than the notches in the ends of the coop, comparatively long spring plates bridging all of the notches and having their ends secured to the ends of the masses coop and to the partition, a slat providing a door adapted to be passed through the notches, said slat having a central depression upon its outer face, a clip having its body pc 'on arranged in the depression and having its ends formed with spaced lugs the outer faces of which being inclined downwardly from their inner to their outer edges and the space between the lugs being equal to the Width of the spring strip bridging the notch in the partition and adapted to receive therein the said strip When the slat in ch sing position, and said lugs having their outer edges provided with alining openings designed to receive therethrough a locking element.

in testimony whereof I aliix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

JOHN G. PETFER. i i i tnesses Lao MoDnnMorT, T. C. Pn'rnsson.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, t5. 

